Smile
by katiekitten
Summary: Everyone has their weaknesses. It's how you deal with them that makes a difference. Deitobi oneshot, major spoilers for chapter 362.


**Smile**

Weaknesses.

Some say fear is a weakness, turning the strong into mere shadows of what they once were as they face the gun pointing at their heads; trembling, shaking, cowering before death's door.

But what if you are not afraid?

Pain, others say, the bite of sharp steel as it slips between your ribs, the single second of shrieked agony as the blade gleams scarlet in the cold sun's rays.

But what if you can't feel?

_Pure fury building up inside him, running through every single fibre of his body, humming through his veins -_

He remembered, once, (before all this came to pass) a kind smile, a loving touch that ran gentle fingers caringly through his hair. He remembered the pain he'd felt, numbed by the passage of time, as that smile was snatched away, taking a part of his heart, a part of _him_ with it.

It never returned.

_Pouring like liquid fire, raging, growing, urged on by his triumphant smile -_

Mortality, his master had said; the short road that all humans tread, so easily destroyed and so quick to its end.

But what if you don't want to live forever?

_His greatest work of art blossoming throughout his torso, it's black tendrils winding under his skin -_

Love, his comrade told him, cold, scarlet eyes watching him dispassionately. Compassion for others ties you down, creates unwanted bonds that will do nothing but hinder you, and restrict true potential.

_An identical set of tomoes gazing at him with dumbstruck horror, and fear - the beautiful fear! - shining through the brats so called emotionless features – he was going through with it, he was actually going to do it -_

He remembered raising an eyebrow incredulously at that, eyeing his normally silent companion as they stood on their respective fingers of the great sealing statue, their shadowed images flickering occasionally in the otherwise empty room. 'Why tell me this?' he'd asked, newly freed from the tyrannical reign of his 'master'. 'And why do you give a damn?'

_A crazed grin running across his lips at the sight, the pleasure of knowing that he'd finally broken that cold façade adding more fuel to the fire burning inside–_

The slaughterer of the Uchiha clan had smiled humourlessly, the action not quite reaching his eyes, before the scarlet eyes closed and the image fizzled away, leaving Deidara blinking at the darkness.

_Black lines covering his entire body, pulsing in a rabid frenzy as the energy reached its peak. Light pulsing throughout his body, an ecstatic grin dancing across his lips – Any regrets? _None._ Back down now? _Never!

Pride, he knew was a weakness, his partner practically confirming it everyday as he hurtled head on into life. Overconfidence in your abilities and underestimating your opponent lead to you being collapsed on the floor, a kunai to your throat, crimson soaking the crumpled leaves beneath your twitching corpse.

But what if he couldn't help but hide a smile when Tobi launched into another description of his battle against the Sanbi?

_His smile faltering slightly at a flash of an orange mask in his minds eye, an image of tousled hair and a scarred face, a pained voice shouting his name over the sound of an explosion–_

At times he wondered if there was more to the Sharingan then was let on. Did the ability to predict another's movements' span from something more? He'd ponder this when relaxing in his and Tobi's shared room, the warm weight of his partner's head resting in his lap as the boy finally drifted to sleep after another set of nightmares.

How could he have known?

_Casting his eyes to the skies as they slid half-closed, basking in the memories and allowing them to twirl inside him, weaving into the flame-_

Deidara'd known from the start that Tobi was different. He may have lost a part of himself, but the masked ninja seemed to fill up the space it left behind, lighting up a world that had been draped in shadows for all too long.

_Shuddering as he felt his body begin to contract, preparing for the final work of art-_

Most importantly, he knew, Itachi was wrong.

_The endless blue reflecting in his sparkling eyes, half whispered words slipping from his failing lips-_

If anything, the bonds we bear do not hold us back but give us strength, the power to do what we feel is right.

_Tension building, barriers breaking, energy flooding through-_

And it's in that moment, that pure, blissfully fleeting moment, that all you can do is-

_Goodbye, Tobi._

Smile.

**End.**

**In loving memory of Deidara.**

Sorry for it being so confusing, just let me know if you have any questions. :) This may very well be my last update for a while, as I'm off on holiday for the next five weeks. I /am/ writing the next chapter of Violet Skies, I've got an itasaku-if-you-squint in the works and a fluffy Deitobi on the drawing board - I may be able to finish the last two before I leave, but I'm afraid Violet Skies most probably won't be. Sorry, folks!


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